These 7 artists shaped Japanese House music: Get to know them

Last night as I scrolled through the Four Four forum group, I came across a really interesting thread of music. These consisted of house tracks that were coming from Japan. Artists like Soichi Terada and Shinichiro Yokota grabbed my attention immediately, for what I can only describe as, ‘soothing’ house music.

I couldn’t stop listening, not to mention being dragged in by their beautiful cover artworks, before I knew it, hours had passed by. It’s now 1:30am and I decide to look into this culture some more.

From YouTube to Soundcloud and even reading up on websites like Electronic Beats, I found some really impressive artists. A lot of it is thanks to Satoshi Tomiie, who himself is a pioneer of the Japanese House movement. He told his story on how it all started for him and shared his guide to the landscape of house music in Japan.

Below are some interesting key artists I found that you should definitely check out.

Shinichiro Yokota

Long time friend of Soichi Terada, Shinichiro recently released an album via Far East Recording. He is most know for his release ‘Do It Again’ on the label in 1992.

(YouTube uploader got the wrong name)

Soichi Terada

The man behind the infamous Far East Recording. Soichi also contributed to video game sound tracks such as Ape Escape. He achieved fame through his deep house releases and his house music label.

Ko Kimura

Said to be the man who introduced Japan to house music, Ko is based in the amazing city, we here still DJs to this day.

Hiroshi Watanabe aka Kaito

Most known for his release on German label ‘Kompakt’, he has also put out material with Japanese-based imprint Transit. He’s also the only person on my list that has an alias, which adds to his appeal.

DJ Nori

Based in The Netherlands, DJ Nori is not only a creditable Japanese DJ, he is also a journalist. He is said to have brought the NYC sound back to Japan with him in the late 80s.

So Inagawa

Responsible for the Carabet record label and party series, his tracks are the perfect example of modern deep house. A lot of his tracks were made many years ago and still sound as crisp as ever today.

Manabu Nagayama

Manabu teamed up with Soichi Terada in 1991 for ‘Low Tension’ only for it to be re-released in 2015. He also had music feature on Rush Hour.

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